Kejriwal made defamatory remarks to score political points: Arun Jaitley

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today told Delhi High Court that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders had launched a 'calculated' defamatory campaign against him and his family with 'ulterior motives' to get political mileage.

Jaitley said the right to freedom of speech and expression was "not absolute" and it "did not extend a licence to anyone to defame any other citizen having fundamental rights under the Constitution".

He made the submission in response to written statements filed by Kejriwal, Raghav Chadha, Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh and Deepak Bajpai on a civil defamation suit filed against them by him.

In his response, Jaitley has contended that the "defendants have, individually and collectively, in a calculated manner launched a per se defamatory campaign against plaintiff (Jaitley) and his family members for gaining political mileage and ulterior motives".

Jaitley has sought Rs 10 crore in damages from them for issuing allegedly false and defamatory statements against him and his family in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) when he was its President.